Los Merengues were held to a 1-1 draw against Espanyol on Saturday, with Gonzalo Higuain cancelling out Stuani's first-half opener - a result which handed the title to the Blaugrana.

However, Carvalho stressed that every competition has its own prestige attached to it and a cup victory would be some consolation for their failure to win either La Liga or the Champions League.

"The aim was to win the league but that has been tough," the 34-year-old defender confessed to Real Madrid's official website.

"In the Champions League you need a little bit of luck and to play very well in the two matches to reach the final. What we have to play for now is the cup and we have to do everything to win it.

"We know the importance of the match and we have to try to do everything to win because a title is always a title. We want to win and present the trophy to the fans and the club."

Carvalho, who has not featured heavily for the Blancos this season, was critical of his side's performance against Espanyol but also defended Jose Mourinho when asked if there was a reason why the coach had not gone into the technical area to give instructions during the game.

"During the match we're focused and we cannot be looking at whether he is there or not," the ex-Chelsea man replied when asked about the Madrid trainer. "Everyone does his part and he is the one who decides.

"We didn't manage to play our game in the first half. We were under the cosh at first and then had to try to react, but they stayed deep. In the end, we could have played better and won but now we have to think about the cup."

Carvalho also commented on the injury sustained by Raphael Varane in the match, which saw the Frenchman come off after just 19 minutes.

"He's playing very well and is very important to us," the Portuguese added. "We’ll see the results of the tests tomorrow, but he is a very important player for us."